Life's Harmony
by Ragnarok'n'Roll
Summary: It has been 10 years since the great victory and the tho heroes have disappeared from the wizarding world. Now a new enemy has arisen to threaten the world and the wizarding world needs its heroes back. Where are they and do they want to come back? Rating M for Language and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Harmony.

There was no other way to describe it. The last 10 years had been perfect for the two people sitting on the porch. The man was tall and thin, but powerfully built for all of his apparent lankiness. The woman with him was shorter but still threw an imposing shadow when she needed to. The man's face had the hallmarks of a person who had seen too much for one person to bear and a few scars to match. The woman had no marks except a slight scratch mark on her neck. Her face gave nothing away but could be the giver of great knowledge when the situation was dire. They sat on the porch on a pair of matched chairs. Dark oak with brass finishing's for the main, each had a gemstone set into wood of the backrest just above head level, emerald for the man and a diamond for the lady. They shone in the setting sun as the two reclined on them.

The couple sat until the light began to fade. With the last rays of sunlight glinting off the jewels in their seats the pair got up and, hand-in-hand went into the house. When they had crossed the threshold the man locked the door behind them. They went into the living room and curled up on the sofa. The woman pulled a book from the side table and had opened it at her previous bookmark. She sat quietly reading her tome while the man read over her shoulder, occasionally pointing out interesting snippets that caught his eye.

While they sat there the man summoned some drinks from the side cabinet for the two of them. The woman gave him a smile and a quick kiss and then she resumed her reading. The book she was absorbed in was a very old edition. The spine was well worn due to constant rereading and the pages were marked with innumerable marks and annotations that had been written on scraps of paper and clipped to the pages to avoid damage to the book.

After about an hour the pair got up and, after replacing the book on the shelf, went up the stairs to their bedroom. They got undressed and slipped into their night attire. For the man a pair of red and gold silk pyjamas with an embroidered lion on the left breast. The woman's attire was similar to her companions but hers was a one piece nightgown. They lay in bed for a while talking about nothing. On this, the 10 year anniversary of their victory they also talked about the battle itself and the months leading up to it, the hardships that they had faced and triumphed over. This discussion brought a tear to the eye of the young lady. When her partner saw this he changed the subject. After another few minutes of idle chat they said their goodnights and snuggled down. The man gave a sigh of contentment. Even 10 years after the final showdown in the courtyard of his alma mater he was still surprised to realise that he was lying next to the love of his life and he was happy. The world had not needed them for the last 10 years and they had dropped out of the sight of the world. This was how Harry Potter and Hermione Granger wanted it and life was good.

For the moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Kingsley Shacklebolt sat at his desk and reviewed the latest reports. He hadn't seen casualty figures as bad as these since the war against Voldemort. The passing years had barely touched his dark skin, except for his eyes. His eyes alone revealed how much he had seen and done. His office was sparsely furnished. Quite a difference from previous ministers in that he had but a desk with a stout chair for him and a smaller chair for visitors. A small bookcase and filing cabinet stood against the left hand wall. The right hand wall was entirely glass and it looked over the ministry atrium so that he could always keep one eye on everything. The only decoration in the room was an ornate emblem of Hogwarts over the door. This hung directly opposite from his desk so he could always see it. Attached to it were two reminders that he was meant to be here as much as he didn't think he should be. He was stirred out of his reverie by a knock at the door.

"Come" he said in a clipped tone. He didn't like being interrupted

The door creaked open and a girls head popped in. Her face was small and bright with eyes that could almost see through you. Her hair was a light brown, but Kingsley could see her natural dirty blonde colour showing at the edges. She had a slight smile on her face that always struck Kingsley as the smile of someone who is in a world of their own.

"What can I do for you Luna?" he asked, his voice softening slightly when he saw who it was.

"Well two things really" she said as she glided into the room. Shutting the door behind her she sat on the small chair on the other side of Kingsley's desk and pulled some papers from the bag over her shoulder.

"First I need you to sign off this requisition order" she said passing him a couple of pages. He took them and glanced through them.

"She really needs all this?" he queried after a minute of looking at the extensive list of supplies.

"Yes unfortunately. She is having a hard time keeping up with the injuries that keep coming into to the hospital. She cannot spare anyone to go and get the ingredients so she sent me an owl with her needs" Luna replied.

"In that case I will sign this off. And when you send the confirmation letter back, say to her that if she needs anything else I will do everything I can to help" he said as he quickly scribed his name on the bottom of the sheet and sealed it with his signet ring.

"What was the other thing?" he asked when Luna had put the papers back into her bag. Luna looked slightly embarrassed, which was something Kingsley had not seen since he caught her with Neville in the stationary cupboard.

"It is a personal thing" she said and paused for a minute. "I am pregnant"

"Congratulations" Kingsley offered and got up from his chair, walked around the table and gave her a rare hug.

"Thanks Shack" she said slipping back into the old ways when they were just good friends not boss and secretary.

"When's it due?" he asked perching himself on the edge of the desk.

"March 24 and Neville and I were wondering..." she trailed off.

"Yes?" Kingsley prompted.

"Would you be Godfather?" she asked hopefully.

This threw Kingsley for a second. Him, Neville and Luna had always got on well even before they worked with each other and he had been best man at their wedding, so he wasn't sure why this question threw him like it did. Maybe it was because it would make him almost part of the family, the one thing he didn't have. He was still thinking when he caught Luna's expression falling at his non-answering.

"I would love to" he said. Her face brightened immediately and this time she threw her arms around him and laughed with relief.

"Thank you so much Shack. This means so much to me and Neville. I can't wait to tell him"

They were just pulling away from each other, laughing at her reaction, when there was another knock at the door.

"Come" Kingsley said, trying valiantly to pull himself together. A lesser scribe poked his head around the door and saw the Minister for Magic and his secretary having a laughing fit.

"Yes?" Kingsley asked when his humour had subsided.

"There is a message here from officer Malfoy sir" The man said and, giving the message to Kingsley, left.

"Malfoy, I wonder what he could have found that is so important to break the communication silence" Kingsley said to himself.

"Well open the letter and find out" Luna said in a matter-of-fact tone, a slight smile still stuck to her face.

Kingsley decided to do as she said rather that answer. He nearly fell down when he read what it contained.

"What?" Luna asked, the smile leaving her face.

"He's found them" Was all Kingsley said. Both of them looked to the Hogwarts crest and the two items attached to it. A pair of wands, one Holly and Phoenix feather, the other of Vinewood and Dragon Heartstring looked back at them.

Harry and Hermione's Wands


	3. Chapter 3

Draco Malfoy was not a happy man. To the casual observer he appeared to be quite content but he was not a happy man. It had been 2 hours since he had found out the startling news about Potter and Granger and 90 minutes since he had sent the owl to Kingsley. He was sitting on a small bench on the edge of a little village in Yorkshire. 300 yards down the road was the house that Draco had thought was empty. He had been planning to use it as a base for his mission in the area. However when he got closer he saw movement in the window. He dropped low and drew his wand, fearing he had been expected here and it was a trap, however he froze in utter surprise when he saw the figure at the window. It had been 10 years but he instantly recognised the man he was seeing. The proud cast to his features and the uncontrollable look of his hair automatically gave him away for who he was, there was no scar on his forehead but Draco instantly new it was Harry Potter. His surprise was heightened further when a smaller woman joined Harry at the window. Her hair was just as bushy as it always had been and her face had the same look of intelligence about it. It was Hermione Granger he was sure of it.

He sat on the bench waiting for the return owl from Kingsley when he was joined on the bench. He turned away from the person, still wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"Draco"

His name shook him out of his reverie and he turned around to see who it was and was shocked to find him facing Kingsley.

"Minister" Draco managed when he had recovered.

"So..." Kingsley said and trailed off.

"Yea" Draco replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive"

Kingsley took a deep breath and then chuckled.

"What's so funny Minister?" Draco asked

"Well, you know everyone had thought that they had left the country for America or Australia, and here they are in an English village" said Kingsley

"Yea it is a little weird" confirmed Draco, with a tight smile

"No what is weird is finding you two sitting on a bench in my village" said a voice from behind them. They both turned around at the sound of that voice. That voice that they had not heard for 10 years.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Harry Potter.

Ten minutes later Draco and Kingsley were sitting in the living room of Harry's house.

"Drink?" Harry asked.

"What have you got?" Kingsley asked. Draco thought that the Minister was acting as if 10 minutes had passed rather than 10 years since they had last met Harry.

"Whiskey, Spitfire, JD or this" Harry said holding up a small bottle. Kingsley leaned forward to read the label.

"Firewhiskey?" Kingsley said slightly surprised.

"I have had this bottle for 13 years. It is for special occasions and I think this qualifies"

"In that case a small Firewhiskey please" Kingsley said and reclined in the armchair he had parked himself on. Draco sat upright on its twin.

"Draco?" Harry asked

"Firewhiskey is fine" he replied slightly stiffly.

"Relax Draco, I am not going to attack you or launch into an angry rant about why you are here" Harry smiled at his old classmate. Draco relaxed slightly and smiled thinly.

Harry poured the drinks and passed them round.

"To old friends" Kingsley said and raised his glass. The other two echoed his toast and drained their glasses.

"Where is Hermione?" Kingsley asked Harry when they had all drunk.

"She has gone shopping. I am hoping that we can get this sorted before she gets back so she never need know you were here"

"She doesn't know you know we are here?" asked Draco

"No, I saw you in the bushes earlier and thought my mind was playing tricks on me but you were still there half an hour later. So I sent Hermione to the supermarket in the next town"

"Why?" Draco asked slightly puzzled.

"So that you can say what you want to say and, if you will pardon me, get the fuck out of my life" Harry said.

Kingsley was shocked at Harry's language.

"Look I came here as you friend Harry to ask you for..." was as far as he got. The rest of his sentence was lost as shrill voice broke the silence that had fallen.

"HARRY POTTER!" and a maelstrom of light and noise arose from around the house.

"Who the fuck is that!?" Harry yelled over the volley of spells that had punched through the window and door, blowing shards of glass, wood and pottery down the hallway and over the front room. The three people in the house dived behind the sturdier pieces of furniture in the room.

Kingsley and Draco drew their wands and prepared to fire over the cover they had hidden behind. However Harry had other ideas. He undid a bolt on the back of the drinks cabinet and opened a compartment in the antique item of furniture. He pulled out a wand from the compartment and stood up facing the hail of fire.

"PISS OFF OUT OF MY LIFE!" He yelled and, leaping over the destroyed furniture, ran into the oncoming fire yelling curses and spells in equal measure. No hostile spells could touch him and he jumped out of the building and bounded down what remained of the porch stairs screaming bloody murder. The two wizards still in the house stared in amazement at the figure that was charging towards the enemy. They exchanged a glance and followed suit.

When they got outside the spell fire had moved off and seemed lesser in intensity. They took a few cautious steps towards the sounds when they died off completely. They took another two steps and then raised their wands sharply to face the approaching figure.

"Put your wands down you two" said a voice from their left at the same time as Harry appeared from the darkness in front of them.

"Mione, good you are here" Harry said, walking right past Kingsley and Draco and embracing the figure that had just appeared.

"So now Harry maybe you will tell me why you tried to hide these two from me and why our house is ruined" said Hermione Granger as she holstered her wand in her handbag and pulled out a pair of torches, passing one to Harry she scanned the ground. "And who were these idiots" she added seeing the body's in the light of the torch.

"Well for the answer to that, speak to Shack" replied Harry and they both turned to face the Minister.

"He is back" said Kingsley quietly.

"By him you mean..." started Harry, a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yes Harry" said Draco before Kingsley could speak.

"It cannot be" said Hermione.

"It is Hermione" answered Draco.

There was a shout, that was very familiar to the huddled group, from the woods and the unmistakable _crack_ of a wizard apperating. The four of them looked up to the heavens.

The sky above them was flooded with incandescent variations of green. The various shades mingled and merged to form a shape the four heroes had hoped they would never see again. A skull with a distended jaw and piercing black eyes stared at them. The snake protruding from its mouth writhed in the air and curled round itself.

"Voldemort has returned" Kingsley said. The Dark Mark above them throbbed with power and menace.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well that is just typical" said Hermione when they had recovered from the shock.

"We had better clean this up" said Kingsley "and get you two to a safe place"

"We were perfectly safe until you turned up" said Harry coldly.

"Well I am sorry" replied Kingsley, sarcasm dripping off his words "Next time I find an old friend after 10 years I will ignore it shall i?"

"Well if this is what you bring with you maybe you should" retorted Harry

"Oh shut up both of you" yelled Hermione and Draco together. Harry and Kingsley looked over at them.

"Harry it is not their fault that these guys attacked us, and Kingsley don't get on you high horse" Hermione said levelly.

"Sorry hun" Harry said, mollified.

"Don't apologise to me" Hermione said pointedly.

"Sorry Shack" he said turning to face the Minister. He held out his hand. Kingsley took it in his and they shook.

"It's alright Harry. You have every right to be angry. They probably followed me"

"So now that we have all made up shall we get going?" Draco said already moving off towards the nearest body.

"Yes lets" said Harry.

It took them nearly 2 hours to bury all of the bodies and clean the forest of blood. They headed back to the house in silence. When they got to the house they all got out their wands and started repairing it. When it was back to some semblance of normality they went in and Harry poured them all a drink.

"How come you two have wands?" Draco asked when Harry returned with the drinks.

"We had Ollivander make them especially when we left. Just in case" Hermione answered.

"In case of this?" Kingsley queried

"Yea" she responded and drained her drink.

"So how's about you tell us how someone that I killed 10 years ago could be alive today" Harry turned and looked at Kingsley.

"Well, sit down and I will tell you everything I know"

They sat. Harry and Hermione on the sofa, Draco and Kingsley on the armchairs they had vacated earlier. Harry summoned more drinks from the kitchen and they sat, waiting for Kingsley to start.

"Well, where to begin? As you know 10 years ago Voldemort was defeated at the battle of Hogwarts. The Death Eaters were all caught and executed, so that it could never happen again. Only Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were not executed they were stripped of their money and titles and were allowed to remain free. I use the word free loosely as they were given a permanent bodyguard to make sure they abided by the rules. However last year Lucius went missing. We could not find him and when we went to the house all we found was Narcissa, dead. Her throat had been cut and her ring finger removed."

He paused for a minute to look at the reactions of his audience. Harry and Hermione were leaning forwards, waiting for him to continue. Draco was leaning back with his eyes closed. It was still hard for him; Kingsley realised, to talk about this.

"As a precaution we went to where we had buried Voldemorts ashes and we found the urn missing. At this point we went to high alert. We scoured all the old hideouts that the Death Eaters used to use but to no avail. Then we heard the news." He paused again because he heard Draco sit upright in his chair. He motioned for Draco to continue.

"We got an owl from Hogwarts saying that there was shrieking coming from the Shrieking Shack. They had tried the passageway to it but it was sealed. So me and the Minister went to investigate. We had to force our way through the barriers in Hogsmead, because the wards at the Hogwarts entrance were just too powerful, and we crept up to the house. There we met Death Eaters. New Death Eaters, they were wearing the black hood and mask of the original Eaters but they had a different design. Instead of the Dark Mark it was a red Manticore on a dark green background. They call themselves the Disciples of Doom" we fought our way in and up to the top room. There we found..." Draco faltered and Kingsley continued.

"We found a ritual. Voldemorts Urn was in the centre of a circle of candles and there were three figures around the circle chanting. They were throwing up a barrier that we could not penetrate. Then one of the figures stepped forwards and started speaking."

"_Arise again O lord of all. Accept these offerings of servants new and old. Blood of the slain, flesh of the willing, ashes of old and Life of the Faithful". "_

"At each offering he pulled out an item. A vial of blood then a human finger, He knelt down and took the lid off the urn and poured the offerings in and then puller a dagger. He reversed the blade and plunged it into his own chest. He fell gasping and finished the call."

"_Take these offering and be reborn!"_

Kingsley took a deep breath before continuing.

"A blinding flash exploded out from the urn and there was a huge explosion. When we could see again we saw that the other two cultists had been killed by the explosion. However there was a figure standing in the centre of the circle of now extinguished candles. He was tall and broad shouldered and clothed in a long black robe with the hood up. He turned to face us. The face was obscured by the hood so we could not see anything except the mouth. Then he spoke.

"_So you have come, I had hoped that Potter would come to witness my ascension. However you will do."_

"He raised his hands to the hood on his cloak and pulled it back. His eyes were the cat-slits that we were expecting but the face. It was a face that we had not seen since the battle of Hogwarts and yet, it was one we could never forget."

Again Kinsley stopped and looked over at Draco. He nodded and pick up the story.

"It was Ron Weasley"


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning Harry and Hermione were sitting in Kingsley's office and he was recounting all that they had missed.

"12 dead and hundreds injured just in the last two day" finished Kingsley.

"How did it get so bad?" Harry muttered to himself.

"Cause we're idiots and missed it" said Draco from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Has R... Voldemort approached the giants yet?" Hermione asked.

"Yes and so have we, however this time we have had better luck and we have the sworn help from two clans" Kinsley answered, trying to put a positive spin on things.

"Out of 30" Draco said puncturing the hope that had passed over Harry and Hermione's faces.

Kingsley was about to reply to Draco's down cast remark when a large amount of noise erupted from outside the door. Before the four people in the room could draw their wands, two more people burst into the room.

"Harry, Hermione!" yelled the woman and she ran forwards and threw her arms around the pair of them.

"Calm down Luna, let them breathe" said the man who had accompanied her.

"Sorry Neville" Luna said and, removing herself from her old friends throats, she went and stood next to Neville.

"Neville" Harry said, standing. He extended his hand and shook with his old classmate, before pulling him into a bear hug.

"How you been?" Neville asked when he had hugged Hermione.

"You know. So-so, people trying to kill us, terrible enemy, end of the world." Harry said with a remarkably straight face.

"So just a regular day then?" Neville said with an equally bland look on his face. Then the whole room, even Draco, started laughing.

"So are you with us?" Kingsley asked when they had calmed down.

"I dunno Shack. I mean I know things are bad and I want to help but, Hermione and I made a deal when we left last time that we would never fight again." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"The cold turkey method" Draco said from the wall when he had resumed his leaning.

"Cold turkey?" Kingsley asked, slightly perplexed.

"Yea, when you decide to just stop doing something like smoking or drinking or saving the world" Draco said with a sideways look at Harry

"Ah I see" Kingsley said

"Of course it never works" Draco continued "you always talk yourself into that last cigarette or last pint" He turned to face Harry.

"And you Harry have something worse than a smoking or a drinking habit. You have a saving people habit." Harry bridled slightly then relaxed when Hermione put her hand on his arm.

"You always were a git Draco" Harry said.

"Does this mean you will help?" Kingsley asked.

"Sorry Shack. The promise comes first" Harry said.

At that moment there was a tremendous hammering on the door. Neville jumped and swung it open.

"They're attacking!" screamed the scribe before fainting on the floor.

Kingsley jumped to the window and looked out over the atrium, just in time to see the main gates blown of their hinges and a black cloud come sweeping in, as it passed the fireplaces each burst into green fire and people in black robes and masked stepped out. There was a calamitous noise rising from the atrium as people tried to flee and were caught. Those that tried to fight were quickly overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers.

"Now will you help?" Kingsley yelled over the noise. Harry just nodded. Neville and Luna had already left the room to assist with the defence and Draco was hovering in the doorway waiting for the Minister.

"You will need these" Kingsley said and summoned the two wands from the crest and caught them. He handed them to Harry and Hermione. As they took their wands they felt a surge of power and a connection neither had felt since they had given them to Kingsley all those years ago.

Harry, Hermione, Draco and Kingsley sped out of the door, wands drawn to join the fight. They ran down the stairs and found a barricade that had been erected at the base of them. Neville was there, trying to staunch the bleeding of an auror that had been hit. He looked up when he heard them coming.

"Orders?" he asked Kingsley. The minister thought for a moment before looking at Harry.

"Ask Mr Potter, he is in charge"

Harry looked almost like he had been hoping for Kingsley to say that. He looked at the aurors that were stationed at the barricade and looked out over the battlefield and then looked back at Kingsley.

"No quarter" he said and turned back to face the charging enemy.


	6. Chapter 6

The battle was over. They had held but the cost had been high. The main doors had been destroyed and the floo network fireplace's had been obliterated. There had been over 150 casualties on the attacking side and nearly twice that on the Auror's side. The only reason the battle had been won was that once the Death Eaters had got into the atrium there was nowhere for them to run except into the defences of the ministry. They were wiped out. After the battle Kingsley sent a runner to St Mungo's to ask for more medical staff. They sent a full group off 40 healers. They set up an emergency triage centre in the office complex and started to treat the injured. There were not a lot of injuries. The Death Eaters don't usually leave survivors.

"Why did he attack? He must know that he couldn't get through the defences" Kingsley said to Harry, while they sat in the medical centre. They had both received only minor injuries during the fighting.

"He damn nearly did" Harry replied. They were sitting on adjoining beds in one corner of the wing. Hermione had gone off to get drinks for the three of them. She had stayed

"What was the purpose of this then?" Kingsley asked as Hermione returned with their drinks.

"What?" she asked as she sat next to Harry on his bed.

"This attack, what was the point of it?" He said as he sipped his drink.

"A diversion?" Hermione asked.

"Possibly" Kingsley agreed. "But what could be a bigger or better target than this"

"Maybe he wasn't trying to hurt us, just you" Hermione said to Harry

"Why would you say t..." Harry trailed off as a medi-wizard ran up to Kingsley and whispered something to her.

"Harry, I am so sorry" Kingsley's eyes were misty.

"What? What's happened? Hermione said.

"There has been another attack" Kingsley said as Harry got up off his bed and headed off towards the doors.

"Where?" Hermione asked as she and Kingsley followed Harry.

"Godrics Hollow" Kingsley said as they saw Harry Dissapperate.

They arrived in the middle of the tiny village to see a scene of utter devastation. There was a huge pillar of smoke emanating from one end of the village, while the inhabitants were all crowded around in a huddle.

"Harry!?" Hermione called out.

"Yea?" said a voice from behind her.

She spun around to see Harry standing behind her, tears in his eyes.

"What happened?" she asked, but she already knew the answer.

"It's Teddy. He's dead"


	7. Chapter 7

The house was a ruin again. Teddy Lupin had built it up from the ruin of old as a monument to the Potter's sacrifice. Now it was a pile of rubble. There was still one wall standing but the re-bar was now protruding from the remaining masonry. The street around the building was strewn with fallen stones and pieces of slate from the roof. The explosion had also destroyed the sheds that had been in the back garden. While trudging through the wreckage Harry found pieces of his past, a half burned picture, a fragment of furniture and occasionally he found more unwholesome reminders, like a fragment of finger or ear.

"Harry?" came a call from nearby. Harry turned to see Hermione standing with Kingsley and Draco at what remained of the front gate.

When he got to her she pulled him into a tender hug. He laid his head on her shoulder and they just stood there.

"I am so sorry Harry" said Kingsley.

"Don't blame yourself Shack, It's not your fault" Harry said

"I should have put security up" Kingsley said as the four of them retreated from the house. Draco split from the party to talk to one of the residents of the village. When he came back he told the Minister what he had found out.

"The woman above the post office says she saw a man in a black cloak approach the house just before the explosion" He recounted

"Did she get a description?" Kingsley asked, without much hope.

"Yes" Draco said. His three companions all looked up with interest.

"Well?" Harry and Kingsley asked together.

"The woman said that the person was quite tall and thin. With red hair"

"Fucking Weasley!" Harry cursed

"Quite" Draco drawled. For a moment he looked just like a misanthropic schoolboy again and it made Hermione and Kingsley smile.

"Let's go find the bastard!" Harry said and he turned and apperated away.

Hermione, Draco and Kingsley apperated back to the ministry, for want of a better place to go. They didn't know where Harry had gone and this worried Hermione because they had never had any secrets.

"You don't think he would do anything stupid?" Hermione asked Draco as they waited for the report on the explosion to arrive.

"If you had asked me 12 years ago I would have said yes, if you had asked me 2 days ago i would have said no but I really don't know now. Voldemort had managed to effectively isolate us and cut all of his links to the past." Draco said his face impassive but his eyes wild with lack of sleep and adrenalin. Hermione marvelled at how much Draco had grown up.

"Well I will tell you then" said Harry as he walked into the room. Hermione jumped in the air and spun around to face him.

"Harry James Potter don't you dare do that again" she said in her no nonsense tone of old.

"Sorry Mione" he said apologetically and he took a step forwards and embraced her. He looked over her shoulder at Kingsley and Draco as they tried to hide the smirks on their faces.

"I went to the Burrow and Ron's tombstone. I asked for advice"

"Ron?" Draco asked surprised

"Yea Ron" Harry replied looking straight at Draco.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked

"Your screwed mate" Harry said and raised tension breaking laugh from them all.

"But then he reminded me about something" he looked at Kingsley and raised one eyebrow.

Kingsley nodded and turned to the wall behind his chair. He pulled his wand out and started to mutter a spell.

"What is he doing?" Hermione asked

"What was the one thing Voldemort was scared of?" This got a shrug from Draco.

"Or should I say who?"

Kingsley had finished his muttering and there was now a hole in the wall. Inside was a portrait covered in a black velvet cover. He pulled it out and set it up on a stand that he got from the corner of his office. Harry went over to the portrait and pulled the cover off.

"Fuck me" Draco breathed.

"Now, now Draco, language" said the person in the picture.

"How the hell..." trailed off Hermione.

Albus Dumbledore looked at the assembled group and smiled.

"Sit down everybody. This may take a while"


	8. Chapter 8

The portrait of Dumbledore looked at the assembled group and smiled his old enigmatic smile.

"Well Draco, how are you?" he asked pleasantly as Harry, Hermione and Draco positioned chairs facing the portrait and sat down. Kingsley declined and remained standing.

"Fine sir" Draco replied

"You don't have to call me sir. Albus will do fine" said the ex headmaster. He turned his head to face Harry.

"So Harry, what is the problem?

"Voldemort is back"

"Well I knew it would happen" Albus shook his head sadly "How?"

So Draco talked Albus through the ritual and the finding of the old heroes. During the tale Albus listened silently and carefully. When Draco recounted the battle of the ministry and how it had been won. Albus smiled and looked at Harry.

"Saving the world again Potter?" He said in his best Professor McGonagall voice, which broke the silence and the tension.

"Yep, old habits die hard" Harry replied.

"So how can I help?" Albus asked, now businesslike.

"Why was Voldemort scared of you?" Harry asked

"Because I had the power he knows not" Albus said.

"He knows not?" Draco asked

"Love Draco" Harry explained but Albus shook his head.

"No Harry, not love. Love is to abstract a concept. Anyway he did know love. He loved power and he hungered for it. The one thing he did not understand was pain. He had never had anything to lose and so didn't know what pain and loss could do to a person" Albus stopped and wiped away a tear.

"Go on" Hermione urged.

"You all know pain and grief, you have all lost someone close to you and that pain had never left you. You know how that feeling builds up inside you and how it affects you and changes the way that you see things and react to things." Albus explained.

"But how does this help? Surely he would just prey on our pain to weaken us" Kingsley put in from the back of the room.

"Because the knowledge of that pain is a substitute for fear. It keeps you sharp and stops you taking unnecessary risks. Voldemort has nothing to fear and no knowledge of how he would feel if he lost someone close to him so he will throw caution to the wind and take dangerous risks." Albus explained. As he did he looked from person to person. Kingsley was nodding and thoughtful. Draco was composed, while Harry and Hermione were looking at each other with disbelief.

"Don't worry Harry you will be alright" Harry looked at the old headmaster when he said this and shook his head.

"Sorry I do not share your confidence. I always thought my love of Hermione and Sirius and my parents and Luna and all of the rest of them would be what helps. But now you are telling me that the pain of losing family and friends will be what wins the day" Harry told Albus. Albus nodded his agreement.

"Yes Harry you know how it feels and you know what you would do to make sure you never feel that way again" Albus stopped then as the door flew open. Luna ran in breathless and red-faced and looked round the room.

"They have got Neville!" She yelled at the 5 wizards in the room. The reaction was immediate. Draco stood up and grabbed his cloak from the back of the chair in one swift movement, strode to the fireplace and threw in a handful of floo powder and called "Auror Offices!" and in a flash of green fire he was gone. While he was doing this Kingsley had leapt to his desk and grabbed the communicator on it and was now speaking quickly to the person on the other end.

"What happened Luna?" Hermione asked as she guided her old friend to Draco's recently vacated seat.

"He was coming to work from his Gran's and he was going to meet me at Diagon alley for breakfast. When he didn't arrive I went to his Gran's house and found that it had been attacked. His Gran was standing in the doorway with her wand in her hand and a trio of Death Eaters at her feet. She told me that Neville had arrived on time but just as they were going in a squad of Death Eaters arrived. They tried to fight them off but they managed to stun Neville and they apperated away with him" Luna said quickly as she sagged in the chair.

"Dreadful. How can we help?" said Albus voice. They all looked at the portrait and saw just an empty chair. Then Albus's voice continued to emanate from the frame.

"Sorry just had to get something" he said when he walked back on from the side. He was holding his wand in his hand. He turned his back on them and waved his wand at the wall behind him. There was a small creaking noise then the whole wall with the frame swung open to reveal an alcove. The alcove was empty except for a scabbard. The scabbard was made of black leather and studded with four gems. Three rubies were set in a perfect triangle on the front, just below the hilt of the weapon. The last gem was a large golden diamond set in the centre of the triangle. When Harry approached the weapon, the diamond started to pulse with light. As he reached out to pull the weapon from its holder a beam of light shot out from the diamond and shot through his chest. He felt a warm glow shoot through his body and he clasped his hand around the handle of the weapon and drew it from its scabbard.

The sword of Godric Gryffindor glittered in the light of the lamps in the room and Harry swung it in front of him remembering the weight and feel of the weapon even after 15 years.

"There you go Harry" said Albus and Harry retrieved the scabbard as well. When he had removed both items the alcove swung shut and Albus sat down.

"Well it is lovely but how will it help me" Harry asked

"Alas I cannot tell you that, but I will say this. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who deserve it" Albus said solemnly and closed his eyes.

Harry turned away from the portrait and, sheathing the sword, attached the scabbard to his belt and grabbed his cloak.

"Let's go find Neville" he said to the two women standing in front of him and he held out his hands to them. Hermione took one and Luna the other. With a nod from Hermione, Harry apperated the three of them away. Kingsley looked up from his desk at the sound of the apparition and shook his head.

"I have got to go Beryl. Just sort out a protection detail" he said and hung up.

"Well I will just sit here shall I?" he asked the empty room. He sat for a minute in thought them made his mind up. He stood and walked to the fireplace. Throwing his floo powder in he shouted "Malfoy Manor" and he was gone.

Albus looked up from his chair and smiled. Then his smile turned to shock as the door slowly swung open.

"You!" he said as the figure raised his wand. Albus dived to one side off the edge of the frame just as a bolt of fire shot from the stranger's wand and incinerated the picture. Looking around the room the mysterious wizard aimed his wand on Kingsley's desk.

"Frye"


End file.
